Last Friday afternoon, I went to vote at the Fairfax County Government Center.  As I walked past the Fairfax Democrats’ table, a friendly woman greeted me and asked if I wanted a sample ballot.  I took her question as an opportunity to have a brief discussion.

I told her that I served with the U.S. government in Iraq and had terrifying experiences of running to bomb shelters while Iranian-made rockets exploded nearby.  I asked her if she could contact Democrat politicians to tell them to stop funding terrorism, through our government giving billions of dollars to Iran, and also USAID giving billions to the Taliban.

“Oh, there’s nothing I can do about that” she replied.  “Why don’t you contact them?”  I told her that I had, and they had completely ignored me.  She said again there was nothing that she could do.

I said, “Sure, there is: by whom you vote for.”  

She responded, with her voice trembling: “You mean vote for the man over there?!” as she pointed to a Trump sign across the street.  “He’s going to send the National Guard to the border, to shoot migrants as they come across!” 

Shocked at such a ridiculous comment, I said, “Of course Trump’s not going to do any such thing.  Speaking of the open border, the Mexican drug cartel murdered my brother’s brother-in-law.”

“Well, that’s your personal matter,” she replied.

Her callousness stunned me as I walked into the voting precinct.  After I voted, I walked outside and passed by her again on the way to my car.  I said to her, “My brother’s brother-in-law is not a personal matter.  He was a human being, brutally murdered by a cartel, who left behind a beautiful daughter.  Think of him when you vote.”  

Her final words to me were “I’m one of the nice ones.”  I’m not sure what she meant there.  Perhaps she was contrasting herself with the not-nice ones, who dress in black, wear masks, and carry large sticks.

I will give her credit that she didn’t raise her voice or swear at me, and she is entitled to her own opinion.  What worried me was her mindset, and the mindset of the organization she represented, the Fairfax Democrats.  This woman had an “Official Democratic Party Volunteer” sticker on her shirt.

It’s been eight years since the last time I talked to someone from the Fairfax Democrats.  Back in 2016, in front of the voting precinct, a female Fairfax Democrat assaulted me by spitting in my face, and her large muscle-bound husband threatened to beat the daylights out of me.  My crime?  As I walked by the woman, sitting at the Fairfax Democrats' table, I said, “I support women’s rights, which is the reason I will vote for Donald Trump.”  Apparently, expressing my First Amendment right is a crime punishable by wearing her saliva, and having Mr. Bodybuilder send me to the hospital.  

Please email Aaron Yohai at chair@fairfaxdems.org, or call (703) 573-6811, and ask why the Fairfax Democrats are spreading such vicious lies about Trump wanting to shoot migrants coming across our open border.  These inflammatory lies may encourage mentally unstable people to react violently toward President Trump or his supporters.

Hugh Iwanicki is a former Foreign Service officer and expert on Middle Eastern affairs.  He is the author of Shock & Alarm: What It Was Really Like at the U.S. Embassy in Iraq.  Hugh brings attention to the plight of persecuted Christians throughout the world and can be reached at iwanickih@yahoo.com.

Image: cagdesign via Pixabay, Pixabay License.